Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are so much more than just morning show hosts. The LIVE with Kelly and Mark co-hosts are soccer lovers too. The couple purchased the Italian Campobasso Football Club in 2022 and made sure to not lose themselves in the process.
For years, ESPN followed Kelly and Mark as they took on ownership. The four-part docuseries premieres on July 29 and gives an inside look at how the couple turns the football club into a winning organization.
The trailer was released today, with Mark sharing it to his 3.4 million Instagram followers, writing: "Proud and excited to announce our new ESPN Original series Running with the Wolves — an inside look at the underdog rise of our Campobasso Football Club." Watch the trailer below.
Fans of the Campobasso Football Club call them the "Lupi," which is Italian for "wolves," thus, Running with the Wolves. During the trailer for the series, Mark said: "I grew up watching Italian soccer."
"I thought we were just going to buy a property in Italy," Kelly joked. Mark quickly responded: "Well, there's a stadium."
This purchase is much more than just a property. While Kelly and Mark did not disclose the financial details for the acquisition, controller of the team Matt Rizzetta estimates the value of the team at $10 million, per Forbes.
© InstagramWhile this isn't the first professional venture the couple has taken on, it's certainly the biggest. In April 2023, Mark officially joined LIVE as Kelly's co-host, after Ryan Seacrest decided to leave the show. They even met at work while on the set of All My Children.
"When I saw [a photo of Mark from the casting director] I saw my entire future with him flash before [my eyes] — like I saw it," Kelly revealed in 2018 on the Lunch with Bruce podcast. "And I don't believe in any of that and now I do because of that moment."
© InstagramIn 2007, Kelly and Mark first became business partners when they launched the production company Milojo, a combination of the first two letters of their children's names – Michael, Lola, and Joaquin.
© Ann LimongelloWhile Kelly became a queen of daytime television, Mark focused on his children. But in 2017, he joined the second season of the teen dramedy, Riverdale, as Hiram Lodge. And in its third season, Kelly starred as Hiram's mistress.
"It was so much fun," Mark recalled to PEOPLE. "We got to spend the weekend up in Vancouver [where Riverdale is filmed] and we had a nice little weekend there."
Their relationship and careers have had a lot of ups and downs. This new venture into soccer is just the next stop on the journey.
"Building the Campobasso FC project from the ground-up has been one of the wildest and most rewarding adventures we've ever taken on," Kelly and Mark told PEOPLE. "We can't wait for new and longtime fans to join us for this ride."
© ABCIt seems this isn't the end of their business ventures, because as they explained: "We are just getting started!"
